This is indeed surprising. I have a totally different experience. The car is indeed louder in Sport mode, but in quiet mode, there is hardly any difference with the PSE quiet mode...

 

I see reference in this thread (and PM's) that perhaps I didn't install this system correctly, or that I misrouted lines or I have defective factory parts on my car (2014 Carrera S Cab with 1,200 miles on it), because I find the AWE Switchpath too loud for my tastes. I believe it was installed correctly and that my car has no defective factory parts. I know my way around a toolbox pretty well, and worked as a professional mechanic for several years in the motorcycle industry. Putting a new Automatic Transmission in my Daughter's BMW 323i was a lot more challenging than doing a simple pipe install on a Porsche. I have a loaded Snap-On box in my garage and recently restored this rare Moto Guzzi Daytona 'barn find' motorcycle to its former glory.



Also attached is a photo of the factory passenger side valving on my car, with the additional coupler that I needed to hook up the AWE kit. I took this shot this morning as I was removing the pipe. As you can see, the additional coupler is required for the line extension so I continue to believe that (2) line couplers should be included in the kit.



I think all the videos I've seen for the AWE Switchpath have been done in Coupes, and mine is a convertible - I believe that might be a factor in the loudness levels. With the top down on the car, the sound wicks right into the interior quite dramatically, perhaps the coupes not so much. I did put the top up on my car and rear windows rolled up during the tests and it cut down the loudness considerably - could be the convertibles just need a quieter unit.

The AWE unit is basically a conjoined straight pipe coming off the cats and running through a blocking switch valve that goes to the inside mufflers on each side. When I look at units from Capristo and Akropovic, they have kept a center muffler (of their own design) so I think that's a key in keeping the tone to a lower level. I'd like to see the guys at AWE Tuning develop a center muffler system for us Porsche owners that want something more than stock, but less than what the Switchpath system delivers.

 

I'm pal Jim with the PSE-equipped 991 C2S. The system does sound glorious, no doubt, but it is noticeably louder than my PSE with the valves opened. The PSE, with the valves closed, is dead quiet and the AWE system is nowhere close. I could not discern any change in tone throughout the rev range which would indicate valve actuation. Even pulling up to a stop light, the gargle on overrun was there with the AWE system.

The AWE system seems to be of high quality and the tips are like jewelry but, make no mistake, it's a straight pipe system from cats to tip when the valves are open. Perhaps the non-PSE exhaust system valves don't operate as expected on 2014 model year cars?

 

It sounds like something isn't working correctly with the valve system. Mine is whisper quiet under normal throttle in the valves closed position. You should be able to hear the tone change noticeably at idle when switching between closed and open.

I would say it is somewhere between 1.5 and 2 times louder with valves open versus PSE, but valves closed sounds almost exactly the same to me.

 

Duane,

First, I just want to make sure you know we’re not trying to be confrontational here. Since our SwitchPath exhaust flows through the stock side mufflers when the valves are closed at part throttle, the sound volume should in no way be “straight pipe loud” or like a loud subwoofer if everything is functioning properly. That’s the beauty of our system.

So, the fact that yours was so loud when it should not have been caused us to scramble the R&D team here to get to the bottom of this.

In the end, this is a case where we needed to make our instructions more clear. We ultimately found that we have some of the wording backwards in Step 2 for Non-PSE install.

It should have read this way:

1. Insert the supplied hose coupler in the end of the factory passenger side tee fitting, at Arrow A in Figure 1.
2. Attach one of the supplied 10.5” long hoses to the end of this coupler, at Arrow B.
3. Remove the driver side factory valve hose elbow from the hard line and install the other 10.5” long hose, at Arrow C, to hard line outlet.

So, it seems that you left the elbow in place on the driver side, and used the coupler we supplied to attach the hose to it.

With that extra elbow and coupler in line, this is probably what happened:

• The coupler you bought could have had too small of our internal diameter, affecting the vacuum flow to the passenger side valve.
• The coupler you bought could have deformed/melted from heat, affecting the vacuum flow (we use a high-temp spec with the ones we supply).
• The coupler we supplied but was installed on the driver side elbow, could have forced the elbow to flex straight, restricting flow to the driver side valve.
• The extra length of the line installed on the driver side, due to the elbow and coupler that were in there, could have allowed the line to pinch when installed.

Anyway, our SINCERE apologies for this error in our manual. Let’s discuss with TAG Motorsports a suitable solution with your return of the system.

It’s a shame we could not have worked with you to discover this error on the car, before the exhaust was removed! You really would have heard that the exhaust is very similar to factory when you want it to be, and nice and aggressive when you call for it.

 

Hey, he said that it only took 90 minutes to make the swap, and he's probably getting more experienced with it by now, so it's only a 40 or 45 minute job.

I suggest that Duane put your system back on, properly connected this time, and report back. Come on dude, what else do you have to do tonight? You can just TiVo "The Bachelorette" and watch it later.

 

Additionally, we performed all of our development work for the 991 SwitchPath exhaust on a 991 S Cabrio. Here is what the system should have sounded like on your car if the valves were 100% functional:


The woman who lent us the car drives it every day and absolutely loves the SwitchPath exhaust. She was particularly adamant about getting the stock exhaust back when we were done, only because she assumed an aftermarket system would be too loud for her. That system is now collecting dust in her garage.

 

He's certainly more "real man" than me. It took me about 5 hours start to finish to get mine dialed in.

Oh, and the Bachlorette is bumped for NBA finals this week, so he's safe.

 

I don't think he sounded confrontational at all. I think he is just stating the facts of what he experienced and it happened to not work out for him.

It sounds like AWE has their feelings hurt cause someone didn't enjoy their product.

Just different strokes for different folks...

 

I did not have the impression that this was confrontational from one side or the other. The OP stated his case and AWE was trying to understand/explain what the issue could be.
It remained very factual and professional unlike similar threads where I have seen customers and vendors calling each other names.

 

Agree. Reading with interest as I can't decide whether to "upgrade" the pse with switchpath

 

I've learned a lot about exhaust theory and physics today from people smarter than I am, as I've been swapping a number of emails back and forth with a good friend who has been an automotive engineer for a number of years with a major car company (he prefers to remain anonymous but works with the German suppliers on a daily basis). What he told me is that any exhaust that is as short-pathed as the Porsche system relies on the center mufflers to create volume which dampens the sound. Remove the center muffler system and replace it with what is essentially a straight pipe and yeah - its going to be loud. He sent me this to post to the thread:

"OK, here is my short take on exhaust tuning. Attenuation without lots of back pressure takes volume, attenuating low frequencies takes volume. On the Porsche system, the center muffler looks like a pretty big volume, so eliminating it is going to limit the ability of the system to attenuate, especially low frequencies (which tend to match the interior resonances and cause boom). So it is going to be louder, but of course that is the point. How loud is loud enough, how loud is too loud, and when does it become too boomy, well that's an entirely subjective matter. Simply removing the center muffler relies entirely on the outside mufflers, which could be a source of variation, especially since they remain stock. It appears from glancing at the Porsche web site there are at least three exhausts, the base, the S, and the sport. I would expect them to all have different tuning codes. They all have to meet pass by standards, so the combination of center + outside has to provide a certain amount of attenuation. Since the sport is the loudest with the outside mufflers bypassed, they would have a lot of attenuation. The S would have less, and the base would have the least (assuming they get less loud and "sporty" as you go down from the sport). Also, since the non-sport exhausts are automatic, they could switch paths under different conditions, perhaps not where expected. So it is entirely possible, depending on the tuning of the components, that removing the center resonator on an S could be the perfect balance, and doing the same thing on a base car could be way too loud. Knowing Porsche's penchant for dividing thing finely in order to charge for every little upgrade, and the German penchant for making the simple complex, I wouldn't be surprised if every level had a different tuning code (base, base sport, S, S sport, etc.), along with different tuning for convertible versus coupe. There is also the possibility that the division of the tuning between the center and outer resonators changed at some point."

The AWE Switchback system, because its essentially a straight pipe with valved control, is great for those that like to hear a high value (db) system. It's just not for me at the end of the day, simply a preference. I've no doubt I had it installed correctly but the only way to tell for sure is for me to take it to the AWE Tuning shop in PA and we go over it together on their lift, and that's too much a time/effort investment for me. I'm sure Zach would be more than willing to do that, he seems like a very fair person. One of the reasons I bought this system was because it came with a money-back guarantee that the buyer will be satisfied, and that gave me confidence to try it. It doesn't work for me so I'll take them up on that offer or being able to return it (through TAG Motorsports, my selling dealer) and that will be that. I'd like to encourage them to build an alternate system with a center muffler like what you see in several of the other systems (Akropovic, Capristo, Porsche PSE, CarGraphics, etc.,) as I'm pretty well convinced that some form of center muffler is the key to keeping it quieter when you want to talk on your phone or listen to the stereo.

No slams on AWE from me. Not now and not down the road. They offer a product that a lot of folks like, its just too radical for me. The fact they are willing to investigate concerns and take a return on an installed system shows me they are stand-up guys, and that's is the true test of an aftermarket supplier.

Duane

 

Hi guys,

One of the problems with the non PSE Carrera S is that bizarrely, the valves are open under 5 mph. As soon as you go over that they shut, until 3300rpm or so. But, it means at idle they are full open.

My first C2S did this (with the Cargraphics X pipe) and was kind of annoying - you can get the PSE button and software to fix this (no additional vacuum hardware needed, just coding and the switch)

PSE remains shut at idle and only automatically opens at 3300 rpm or so, or when you hit the button.

I'll be honest - I find the AWE to be on the border of too loud as well. I can switch it off with PSE, and I love the sound but it is pretty aggressive.

Duane, my Cargraphics mufflered X pipe is in my garage - it is like PSE except about 20%-30% louder open. Completely stock like when the valves are closed. Totally wife acceptable. Let me know if you're interested - I'm probably going to sell it and keep the AWE.

 

Funny… every time I want to mention Kit's comments about non-PSE cars, he posts a message. Great timing.

I +1 the quoted text; some of your complaints regarding the volume of the system, and AWE's comments, may be attributed to the fact that non-PSE cars keep the valves open at idle.

One way around all of this would be to install a remote to manually control the valves...

 

That makes a lot of sense, as my car did seem to get quieter under mild to moderate power, but was quite loud at idle. Good info, kitw.....who can figure out what Porsche is up to on lots of these parameters?

Right now I'm thinking the while PSE kit from Suncoast may be the answer for what I am looking for. Have to drive pal Jim's coupe that has it first as soon as we can get together. I can install it, wire it, put the switch in the console and all that but if it needs a software update then I'd have to run it through the dealership for that.